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OVERVIEW[]

John is believed to have married Elizabeth McCarty about 1760; this DOM is consistent with the DOB of their eldest child c1763. The POB of that child. Mary, is commonly given as Jefferson/Berkely Co VA, and it would appear that the newly wed couple moved west shortly after their marriage to the portion of Berkeley Co which later (1801) became Jefferson County. John died in 1804 a few years after Jeffeson County was split off from Berkeley Co. His POD is commonly given as Reedson, a small community on Elk Branch, a few miles outside of Harpers Ferry.

John and Elizabeth are believed to have had ten children, more or less evenly spaced between 1763 and 1781, with a birth interval of close to two years. The POB's of their children are variously given as Berkeley Co, or Jefferson Co, depending on whether the genealogist recording the information used the name of the area at the time of birth (Berkeley Co), or the modern name presently applied ot the same area (Jefferson Co).

Vita[]

EntrySource/Basis/Commentary
DOB: 1737
POB: Bucks County, PA
DOD: between 1 August and 9 October 1804 Will written in August 1804 ?; Probated 9 October 1804
POD: Reedson, Jefferson Co, VA Reedson
Burial:
Spouse: Elizabeth McCarty (1735-bef1804) http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/bucks/history/local/davis/davis39.txt We know but little about the early settlers in Haycock. In 1737

Surveyor-General Parsons laid out a tract of 300 acres on Haycock Run to John Anderson, but the location is not known. The 500-acre tract which Thomas and Patrick McCarty purchased of the Penns when they settled in Nockamixon in 1748, lay partly on the Haycock side of the creek and partly in Tinicum. March 3, 1738, John, Thomas and Richard Penn conveyed and confirmed to Silas McCarty 215 acres, half a mile west of Applebachsville, and the latter gave one acre to William Bryan and others on which to build a Baptist church and for a burying-ground. After his death his son, Carrel McCarty, (1) to whom the whole tract descended, confirmed this one acre, August 20, 1759, to William Bryan and Isaac Evans, in trust, for the use of the Baptist congregation at New Britain, upon which they erected a log meeting-house, which was allowed to fall down many years ago.

DOM: c1760
POM: Bucks County, PA
Father: James Melvin (1710-1778)
Mother: Susannah

Ancestry[]

ChildList[]

Name DOB POB DOD POD DOM POM Spouse Notes
Jane c1763 Berkeley, Virginia 1838 Jefferson Co., VA

James Hendrix named in Will
Joseph Melvin (1765-1817) Jan 1764 Berkeley, VA 7 Nov 1817 Madison Co, OH


named in Will; DOB needs examination, commonly given as 1765, but some give a 24/26 Jan 1764 DOB. YOB may be a NewStyle/Oldstyle issue.
John Melvin 1 Sep 1765 Jefferson, Virginia 18 Feb 1846 Jefferson Co, VA

Mary ? (1769-1842) NSDAR 1981:278 named in Will; DOB/DOD from Gravestone in Melvin Cem. at Dust Crossing, Jefferson Co WV, NSDAR 1981:278
Susannah c1765 Berkeley Co, VA

28 Sept 1785 Berkeley Co, VA Samuel Wright named in Will
Thomas 9 Aug 1768 Berkeley Co., VA 11 Sep 1831 Jefferson Co., VA 2 March 1792 Berkeley Co WV Mary Slyh named in Will; some give a Luzerne Co PA POB, but this is questionable, given the fact that the other children show POB in Berkeley and Jefferson Co.
Mary c1773 Berkeley, Virginia
<24 December 1793 Berkeley Co, WV Elisha Butler named in Will
Elizabeth 10 Dec 1775 Berkeley, Virginia 29 Aug 1828
26 April 1796 Berkeley Co, WV Jessee Stall named in Will
Samuel c1777 Berkeley, Virginia 1815 Jefferson Co., VA. 12 Dec 1797 24 December 1793 Mary Polly Osbourn (1786-1806) Samuel is not named in John's will, but is included by some genealogists as a son; the basis for his inclusion is not known. Spouse buried Melvin Cemetery, Dust Crossing, Jefferson Co., VA
Benjamin 26 Jul 1778 Jefferson Co., VA 11 Jul 1842 Jefferson Co., VA 26 Jan 1804 Jefferson Co Catherine Miller (?-1831); named in Will; his will Probate: 1842, Jefferson Co., VA Will: 15 Apr 1841. Spouse buried Melvin Cemetery, Dust Crossing, Jefferson Co., VA
Silas 7 Sep 1781 Jefferson, Virginia 23 Sep 1859 Clark Co., OH. 22 Oct 1805 Jefferson Co, WV Elizabeth Osborne named in Will


Family History[]

Records[]

Will Extract[]

Title Will of John Melvin (1737-1804)
Source Will Book 1, p. 139,
Location Jefferson Co., WVA,
Date of Will 1 Aug 1804,
Probate Date9 Oct 1804.
Bill of Sale Date 10 Dec 1805
Inventory Date 13 Apr 1808.
Wife not named
Heirs: Name Relation Bequest
John son (Executor), leaves 208 acres;
Thomas, son leaves 133 acres;
Samuel, son leaves 133 acres;
Silas, son leaves 124 acres and 16 acres;
Benjamin, son leaves the house and a negro boy named Jack;
Joseph, son leaves 200 pounds PA currency;
Mary Butler, dau, wife of Elisha Butler, leaves 300 pounds PA currency;
Jane dau, wife of James Hendrix;
Susannah Wright dau, son wife of Samuel Wright;
Elizabeth Stall, dau, wife of Jesse Stall
Other provisions All daughters to equally divide what is left of the estate after sons receive their shares. Leaves negro girl slaves Beck and her son, and Hannah.
Witnesses
Executor(s) son John

Tax List[]

Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, 1800 Tax List, District of Daniel Morgan.

In the following entries, the first number after each name is that of the white males over age twenty-one, the second the number of horses owned, and the third and fourth, if given, the number of tithable slaves aged between twelve and sixteen and the number aged over sixteen.

LinkName as WrittenWhite males over 21HorsesSlaves 12-15 Slaves 16+OtherNote
John Melvin (1737-1804)Melvin, John Senr3501
Thomas Melvin (1768-1831)Melvin, Thomas 14
Samuel Melvin (?-?)Melvin, Samuel 13 Samuel son of John is dead by 1800; It is not clear who this Samuel is.
John Melvin (1765-846)Melvin, John Junr. 1401 I stud horse

References[]

  1. DAVIS, W. W. H. 1876, 1905. THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time. Second Edition, Revised With a Genealogical and Personal History of Bucks County Prepared Under the Editorial Supervision of Warren S. Ely, Genealogist Member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Librarian of the Bucks County Historical Society. John W. Jordan, LL.D

Of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania New York, Chicago The Lewis Publishing Co., 1905 [1]. [The online version of this work seems to be a merger of the 1876 and 1905 edition, combing notes from the two.]

  1. Williams, Richard T. and Mildred C. Williams, 1971. Index of Wills of Buck County Pennsylvania, 1684-1850. p. 108, Will of James Melvin, 1778, Lower Milford, number 1586.
  2. National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Beeline Chapter, 1981. Tombstone Inscriptions, Jefferson Co, WV 1687-1980.

Links[]

http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/BookView.aspx?dbid=17196&pageno=40

Notes[]

See additional information on the Notes subpage located here.

Contributors[]

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